Comparisons: Go Tell It On the Mounta – Louisa Gaylord

Contents:

• LOUISA GAYLORD
• GAY AND GODLY: G TO J JAM BALDW'S GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTA.

LOUISA GAYLORD

Although John's feelg uld very well belong to a young heterosexual male puberty, is also possible that they are John's emergg feelgs of homosexualy, a subtle subtext that is never directly nonted but that is woven to the story. Baldw do not state directly that John is gay, but there are many stanc which suggt that he may be. That John's view of Elisha durg this cint is more sexual than spirual do not prove fively that John is homosexual.

" Neverthels, the possibily of John's emergg homosexualy adds nuanc to his stggle to fd a place for himself his body, his home, and his life. The relatnship between sex and moraly is further plited wh the implitn of John’s homosexualy.

So John's homosexual sire is somethg that he knows he mt hi and that will e nflict wh his fay and church if he acts on . John seems to have a special csh on Elisha, the preacher's nephew, who is cidly not gay. As a gay man the 1930s, that's not exactly an optn for John… unls he cis to stay the closet forever.

GAY AND GODLY: G TO J JAM BALDW'S GO TELL IT ON THE MOUNTA.

There are also unrton of homosexualy, cludg the eroticized portrayal of Elisha and John's thoughts of the olr boys at Tell It on the Mounta (1953) - Key takeawaysGo Tell It on the Mounta is a novel wrten by Amerin thor Jam novel was published novel tak place on the fourteenth birthday of the protagonist, John is a semi-tobgraphil novel that is based on Baldw's childhood growg up Harlem and his relatnship wh his important them clu relign, race, vlence, fay, guilt, and sexualy. John is also slowg unrstandg that he’s gay.

Go Tell It on the Mounta was published 1952, homosexualy is not openly discsed. John is gay, he’s tempted by the outsi world, he’s telligent and he hat his father. Gay.